Top 5 Highest Paid Medical Assistant Specialties
Reviewed by Jennifer Trimbee, RN
.jpg)
Becoming a medical assistant requires a series of analytical, interpersonal, and technical skills that people passionate about this industry can enhance through a medical assistance program. While aspiring medical assistants are passionate about health care, it's important to also consider compensation, job stability, and salaries.
Many factors influence the average medical assistant salary, and today, we will analyze reliable data to inform you about the highest-paid medical assistant specialties in the United States. It’s time to jumpstart your medical assistant career, and getting insights into the average and highest medical assistant salary will help you figure out what path to follow.
What’s the Average Pay by Experience for Medical Assistants?
There are many questions that people looking for medical assistant jobs ask themselves, such as:
- Where do most medical assistants work?
- How much do medical assistants earn on average?
- What’s the highest medical assistant’s salary based on specialty?
These and many other questions help new medical assistant students understand more about the employment background and general job outlook factors in this industry.
As with other professionals in the healthcare world, salary expectations usually grow based on experience. Research by PayScale shows us that, indeed, the hourly salary of medical assistance professionals varies depending on years of experience, position, and knowledge:
The chart shows that, generally, the average hourly salary increases as work experience increases. Although this also happens in other health care careers, it is worth noting that both part-time and full-time medical assistants have a series of benefits that mostly depend on their employer.
Medical Assistants Benefits and Packages
According to the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), other factors influence the hourly wage and benefits of medical assistants in the United States.
The 2023 Compensation and Benefits Survey for medical assistants completed by over 10,000 professionals shows what we can expect in this industry when it comes to benefits other than salary:
- Health insurance: About 83 percent receive dental insurance, and 70 percent receive major medical insurance.
- Paid Time Off: Almost 81 percent of medical assistants have PTO and sick leave benefits across the country.
- Professional liability insurance: Although only around 21 percent of medical assistants receive PLI, this great benefit has an increasing demand among professionals to protect themselves against getting sued by any patient.
- Disability insurance: About 63 percent of medical assistants receive disability insurance as part of their benefits package.
- Other insurances: Around 78 percent of medical assistants receive vision insurance, and 57 percent receive sick leave as part of their job benefits.
How Can Medical Assistants Boost Their Salaries?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), over 114,600 new openings for medical assistants are projected each year.
This means that employment for medical assistants is expected to grow at an amazing pace of 14 percent from 2022 to 2032.
With this in mind, different factors have a direct influence on medical assistants' salaries across the country. Some of them are state location, work setting, and work experience. In addition, it is necessary to get a high school diploma to get started, as well as a medical assistant certification, associate degree, or official credential.
Certified medical assistants are likely to have a high salary or average hourly rate, so taking the certification exam can help you get a higher average hourly wage. It is also worth noting that bilingual medical assistants have the chance to increase their mean salary over time, but then again, it will depend on their location and work environment.
Highest Paid Medical Assistant Industries in 2023
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, most medical assistants work in physician offices and state, local, or private hospitals. However, the higher salaries in this industry are not always located in a doctor's office or clinics that treat patients. The truth is that these are the highest-paying medical assistant industries as of
Statistics show that only about 10 percent of medical assistants work in insurance-related environments, and although they make more money than average, it still holds true that medical assistant salaries are mostly dependent on the specialty and branch chosen by the professional.
The projected job growth of the industry might provide greater opportunities for all medical assistant job specialties over the course of the next ten years.
Top 5 Highest Paid Medical Assistant Specialties
As mentioned, medical assistant salaries vary depending on the industry, location, and branch. Choosing a career as a medical assistant requires passion, commitment, and love, but it is clear that some specialties pay more than the average. Based on research from reputable sources, these are the best-paid specialties for medical assistants in the United States.
1. Podiatry Medical Assistant
According to GlassDoor, podiatry medical assistants, who are in charge of helping podiatry doctors (podiatrists) in the care of feet, have an average annual salary of $54,116.
Toenail removal, bunion correction, and overall foot care are some of the tasks that medical assistants in this specialty will need to perform.
2. Medical Assistants with Insurance Skills
Medical assistants can work in insurance companies as well, where they are considered valuable assets due to their knowledge, education, and other factors.
By working for insurance companies, medical assistants can make nearly $52,000 per year. Clearly, this specialty requires more administrative work than medicine-related tasks, such as processing insurance claims, analyzing medical records to sell insurance packages, and more.
Only the highest 10 percent of medical assistants can make more than $51,710 per year, according to the BLS.
3. Fertility Medical Assistant
Infertility medical assistants have an annual salary of approximately $44,224. They work in fertility clinics, and their tasks consist of applying hormone injections, tracking medical records, helping doctors in in-vitro fertilization processes, and more.
4. Cardiology Medical Assistant
Cardiology medical assistants have an average annual salary of around $45,859.
Professionals in this field must take care of patients with heart problems. They also usually work recording heart rhythms and performing electrocardiograms (ECGs).
5. Ophthalmology Medical Assistant
Lastly, ophthalmic medical assistants who specialize in ophthalmology tasks make about $54,338 per year.
They assist in basic eye exams, help patients find the right eyeglasses, and support ophthalmology professionals with general medical assisting tasks.
Top Paying States for Medical Assistants in the U.S.A.
The location of the job vacancy has a great impact when it comes to salary for both part-time and full-time medical assistant jobs.
BLS’s research shows that there are five states in the country that have a higher-than-average medical assistant salary as a general rule, which are the following:
Cities also have a great impact on the highest average salaries. These are three curious statistics that aspiring medical assistants should also look into:
- The city with the highest average annual pay is Vallejo-Fairfield, California, with $62,050 per year.
- New York City has the highest employment level in the United States for Medical Assistants.
- New Mexico is the state with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in the country.
Wrapping Up: Top Highest Paid Medical Assistant Specialties in 2024
Medical assistants' salaries are heavily decided by locations, specialties, industries, and tasks.
The statistics show an increasing demand for medical assistants in the United States of America, so choosing your career path should be done with the aforementioned factors in mind.
In conclusion, we recommend keeping up to date with medical assistant salaries in 2023 and the years to come by checking official sources, such as the CareerOneStop.org website, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
FAQs
What’s A Medical Assistant Strongest Skill?
Although selecting only a skill of a medical assistant is a rather subjective task, multiple sources agree on the fact that medical assistants should have outstanding thinking, communication, listening, technology, and human skills to perform their duties with efficiency and passion.
Are Dental Assistants the Same as Medical Assistants?
No - dental assistants and medical assistants are not the same. According to the BLS, they are both listed as similar occupations, and, on average, dental assistants make more money overall.